Joe Thomas Responds To Charges Of Discharging Manure

Cleveland Browns tackle Joe Thomas responded to charges that a farm he owns discharged manure into a wetland.

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When he’s not blocking on an NFL line, Cleveland Browns star tackle Joe Thomas is running a farm in Wisconsin. Or someone is running it for him, but either way, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources cited Thomas for irregularities on that farm, according to a story by Pro Football Talk.

"“Among the violations are damming a navigable waterway, dredging a spring-fed pond, tearing down a barn without a permit and most spectacularly, the previously mentioned discharge of manure.”"

Thomas said that the violations looked bad on the surface, but are, in fact, interrelated and stem from one particular activity.

"“I don’t want to get into the specifics of every little violation. The bottom line is I hired a couple contractors to help with the cleanup project and it was just not knowing that you needed permits for certain things that resulted in the violations.” (via the Wisconsin State Journal)"

The manure in particular came from the contractors demolishing old farm buildings, including a barn, which released manure kept in a pit below the buildings into the wetlands. So, in effect, it was an accident. Not like that matters much to state departments, but Thomas said he would be meeting with officials from the DNR to make sure that he was in compliance.

Thomas has actually been an outspoken ally of the DNR and has expressed his concern about environmental issues. Earlier in the year, Thomas dammed a ditch on the same property to create a wetland and pools of water to attract wetland wildlife.

Cleveland Browns tackle Joe Thomas responded to charges that a farm he owns discharged manure into a wetland.

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